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The way you know for sure that alleged scandals are not really scandals at all is how the "investigation" of those alleged scandals progresses.

If the heart of the alleged scandal involving the IRS is "unfairly targeting conservative groups, Teas, Patriots, etc for extra scrutiny of tax exempt applications".....then why is Darrell Issa now talking about how many trips the IRS Commissioner made to the White House? Why is Issa now raising the issue of tax training conference excesses?

The answer is obvious: this is all a fishing expedition much as the investigation of Whitewater during the Clinton administration. Back then, a GOP fishing expedition into an Arkansas land deal in which the Clintons lost money eventually led to the egregious, impeachment-worthy, national threat of Clinton's white lie over consensual oral sex.

As history repeats, there really is no "targeting conservatives" IRS scandal and the real purpose of Darrell Issa's investigation is to get something started which he hopes will eventually smear someone inside the Obama White House, if not Obama himself. Hey, it didn't work with the Fast and Furious nothingburger......or Benghazi-gate-gate, but Grand Theft Auto Darrell ain't givin' up. He's just casting his fishing line in a different direction.

The other reason for the investigation into the IRS is like the second game of a doubleheader in baseball. While attempting to smear a Democratic president, pounding the alleged IRS scandal provides the additional bonus of exciting the extremist right within the Republican base. A twofer. A political BOGO.

Moreover, the Teas cut their winger teeth opposing Obamacare in the summer of 2009. Townhall bustups and shout downs that summer were all about Obamacare and how much Teas hated extending health insurance access to millions more Americans....because freedom. Obamacare passed eventually in March 2010 and the Teas rallied against Obamacare to successfully retake the House in the 2010 midterms....installing some of our nation's most unqualified House members...ever.

Now, the GOP Teas are anxiously looking forward to the second game of this Winger Doubleheader. By tying the alleged IRS scandal to the IRS' future role in tracking Obamacare subsidies, etc....the GOP is hoping that the Teas will find their 2010 mojo and lead the Grand Old Party of Tea to a full takeover of Congress in 2014.

Often, when The Reverend takes a contrarian view of a national/political "story" as told by all the usual media/political suspects.....my contrarian view is mocked as hard headed or stubbornly partisan. This dynamic also plays out when I suggest, with evidence, that both sides are not equally guilty of blatantly lying to the public. If I suggest that Republicans have gone off the rails when it comes to telling the truth.....just as Republicans are doing right now with the IRS, AP, James Rosen, and Benghazi-gate-gate-gate.....then I must be a hopeless partisan too stubborn to agree with what conservatives consider obvious.

George Mason University’s Center for Media and Public Affairs analyzed 100 statements - 46 by Democrats, and 54 by Republicans – that were fact-checked by the Tampa Bay Times’ PolitiFact organization between January 20 and May 22 of this year.

The center found that 52 percent of Republican claims reviewed by PolitiFact were rated “mostly false,” “false,” or “pants on fire,” while just 24 percent of Democratic statements were given one of those ratings.

Similarly, 54 percent of Democratic statements were rated as “mostly true” or “true,” while just 18 percent of Republican statements achieved those ratings.

Furthermore, Republicans did even worse in the time period from May 1-May 22. That was when the Obama non-scandal scandal hysteria broke out in all it's multi-headed glory....

Despite controversies over Obama administration statements regarding Benghazi, the IRS and the Associated Press, Republicans have continued to fare worse than Democrats, with 60% of their claims rated as false so far this month (May 1 – May 22), compared to 29% of Democratic statements – a 2 to 1 margin.

"It's this easy: when the "Pants on Fire" page presently displays 18 lies by Republicans or conservatives, and two by liberals or Democrats, perhaps there's some bias leaking in."

Republicans have been lying about the AP, IRS and Benghazi "scandals". Lying at a 2-1 clip over Democrats just in the last few weeks. Conservative media have been exponentially worse. I have followed these alleged scandals from their conception and have taken a contrarian view because I know Republicans have been lying. The recent George Mason University study vindicates my contrarianism.

But don't expect the lying by Republicans to stop anytime soon......there's another midterm election coming up in a little over a year...and the GOP expects to lie their way, as they did in 2010, into a congressional majority.